S&P Global, LTIIA member, published a research on 25 Years of Rated Infrastructure Corporates and Project Finance.

The rated global infrastructure sector has grown substantially over the years, while maintaining a lower risk profile than the overall nonfinancial corporate sector. By most measures, infrastructure credits rated by S&P Global Ratings have shown lower default rates, lower ratings volatility, and higher recovery prospects relative to nonfinancial corporates. Some of this is attributable to the stronger ratings profile for the infrastructure sector, but most of these trends hold true at comparable rating levels as well.

Nonetheless, differences within the infrastructure sector exist. The infrastructure project finance subsector tends to exhibit more frequent defaults and greater ratings volatility than infrastructure corporates. Meanwhile, the utilities subsector within infrastructure corporates shows particularly stable performance, largely due to its high proportion of regulated utilities.